Several bicycle headlights and taillights are presently on the market. These lights are generally designed to provide the user with two useful purposes. These purposes are, namely, to provide forward lighting which allows the cyclist to see where he or she is going, and to increase the visibility of the cyclist to both oncoming and trailing traffic. As more automobiles travel the roads, the ability to be seen is becoming increasingly important in order to avoid accidents. The bicycle headlights and taillights which are presently on the market are helpful for alerting automobile drivers to the presence of the cyclist. They fail, however, to provide adequate warning of the real width of the cyclist. Since these lights are generally positioned at the center of the bicycle, they do not provide adequate warning of the width of the bicycle which can include the handle bars and/or the cyclist's body which can extend up to about 15 inches from the center of the bicycle. On a dark night, a trailing automobile driver can easily under estimate a cyclist's true width. The result can be disastrous when an automobile sideswipes a cyclist or drives the cyclist off the road. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a safety lighting device which increases the apparent width of the bicycle, thereby increasing visibility.
Most commercially available bicycle headlights only provide lighting in one direction, and that direction is usually straight in front of the bicycle. As a result, potholes and debris in the path of a bicycle often goes undetected until too late. In addition, since the headlight is directed straight ahead, it is often difficult and dangerous when turning at night since the bicycle is turning into an unlighted area. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a safety lighting device which provides a wider dispersion of light around the bicycle, and in particular, on the front sides of the bicycle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,027,150 describes a bicycle safety light intended to increase the profile of a cyclist by providing a dome light which extends well above the level of the bicycle. While this may increase the apparent height of a cyclist, it does not sufficiently increase apparent width.
It is recognized that essentially the same problems exist for users of motorcycles and boats, and for pedestrians and in-line skaters. The lights presently used on these objects or by these people provides an apparent width which is too narrow, and fails to adequately represent their true or real width. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a safety lighting device which increases apparent width for all activities at night or during darkness.